Musing Days
by Zachana16
Summary: There is a world that exists right along side of ours. It is a world where the impossible is possible.The people in it only appear to the ones who they are to inspire.This is how the story begins.
1. The first muse

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the animes mentioned in this story.

AN: This story is based on how I met my muses. All names have been changed to protect the people mentioned.

Prologue:

I remember the day well. It was almost like it was yesterday. Heck, it's been years really, but to me time has no meaning. I guess when you look back on the dark times in your life they seem like they all pass in a blur. For me, though, it is the one shining ray of light in all this darkness that makes the time even worth mentioning. What am I prattling on about? Well...I'll tell you.

There is a world that exists right along side ours. It is a world of strange creatures and even stranger rules. It is a world where anything can exist, anything can happen. Normal people don't even realize the existence of this special world. To those of us who believe that anything is possible, it shows itself to us through the people who live there.

You see, there are people that we cannot see around us all the time. Call them guardian angels if you want, but really they are what give inspiration to the world. Only those people who find their invisible muse in this great world ever meet one of these special people. Me, I met mine during a hellish time in my life on a day that was more or less ordinary.

Chapter One: The first muse

'Ugh! What a terrible day I've had! I swear my high school is out to kill me! Nothing could make this day any worse.' I thought as I started slowly down the ramp towards the parking lot.

My day had been bad since first bell and it had steadily gotten worse. Too much crap for a ninth grader to handle. Well, at least it was over and I could go home and complain at my mom about it. She'd probably think it was funny, but at least I could unload on her. I love my mom. :-)

I guess I was preoccupied with my thoughts or something, because a minute later I heard the sound of squealing tires and a honking horn. This red Chevy had come out of nowhere and it was bearing down on me!

"AHHHHHH!" I yelled as I literally leapt over the front of the car and to safety. Later I would wonder how I got my body to do just that.

I was just calming my racing heart when I heard the sound of someone cracking up. I felt tears sting my eyes as I turned to face whoever was amused by my misfortune. As soon as I did I had to do a double take. There, standing just a little ways from me was a character from the anime I had started watching three days prior. He was bent double at the waist trying to reign in his laughter.

"What the heck is going on here?" I screeched when I finally found my voice again.

The guy jumped then turned his eyes to look at me briefly before searching around to see who I was talking to. A moment later his black eyes came back to my brown ones and he stared at me. He straightened to his full height, then took a few slow steps towards me, and turned his head to one side.

"Were you talking to me?"

I gripped the strap on my back pack before I said, "Uh, huh."

"Then you can see me?"

I nodded.

"Do you even know who I am, little girl?"

Again I nodded, but this time I followed the motion with, "You're Piccolo from Dragonball Z."

His dark eyes went wide for a full three minutes before he shook his head in disbelief and said, "This can't be happening, not to me. Kami doesn't hate me that much. Certainly he wouldn't do this to me. Not to a young girl."

I felt the tears brimming in my eyes again as he spoke to himself some more. I still needed to get home and away from this hell forsaken school before it tries to murder me again. Tomorrow I'd talk to the school cop about the stupid senior that nearly ran me over. With this decision made I turned sharply on my heel and started to walk quickly away from the scene of my near squishing.

I hadn't even cleared the parking lot when I heard the distinct sound of someone else's rapid footsteps closing in behind me. I started panicking then. I slung my straps completely onto my shoulders and took off across the parking lot. The footsteps became quicker. I was moving at a dead run, but it didn't seem like I could shake my pursuer. I can't maintain this speed long. Already my lungs were burning, signaling the need for me to stop.

I came to an abrupt stop as my body collided into another person. I was gasping for air and could barely stand, but the person I had run into had a hold of my shoulders and was helping keep me upright. Right now I'm just glad that I got to someone other than the hallucination of the anime character in the parking lot.

The person holding my shoulders stiffened then said, "I am not a hallucination, kid."

My eyes nearly popped out of my head as I jerked my head up to look at the person I'd run into. The hands that held me upright were a dark green and had long claw like nails on the ends. I opened my mouth then started shaking where I stood. A moment later I used a little trick my friend Alyssa taught me in middle school.

I started sobbing and wailing at the top of my lungs."WAHHHHHHHHH! Gasping breath WAHHHHHHH!"

Immediately Piccolo let go of my shoulders and backed away from me clutching his ears. "Arg! Stop that infernal racket!"

I simply took a deep breath and started wailing even louder. I wasn't really even upset anymore, but as long as big and green stood near me I wouldn't let up. Eventually he'd have to get away or risk the sound rupturing his ear drums. My plan was full proof. At least, I thought it was until I felt a hand cover my mouth.

His breathing was ragged as he hissed his words into my ear. "Don't you ever do that again, you little brat."

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(Piccolo)

Gods, what have I done to deserve someone as annoying as this girl? Surely I haven't done anything that bad while I was a wild muse. We wild ones usually don't fight with one another unless it's in practice.

Hell, I haven't even been near another muse from my world in quite a while. I can't think of a single thing that I could have done to deserve this torture. At least the girl is quiet now.

Still holding my hand firmly over her mouth I said, "Now, I'm going to let you go now. If you so much as squeak I'll have to gag you. You understand?"

"Mmmpphhmmmmm."

"Good." I released her.

And immediately wished I hadn't. As soon as I was physically away from her she sank to the ground and drew her knees against her body. She was trying to make herself as small as possible, but why? I felt a wave of concern hit me all at once. It looks like I'm stuck with her. That's the only thing I can think of that would make me worry about someone I just met.

I have to do something to make her trust me or this will only get worse. She can't possibly be oblivious to what it means to be able to see one of my kind, could she? One way to find out.

"Do you know what it means for the two of us that you can see me?"

She looked up at me with these huge brown eyes and shook her head no. Oh, lord, not the puppy dog colored eyes. She already has a weapon to use against me right there. Well, I guess I'll get used to it with time.

I slowly knelt down next to the girl's steadily trembling form and said, "Look, I'm not going to hurt you, kid. I actually couldn't even if I wanted to."

I was glad we were somewhere where no one could see her. If anyone saw her just sitting there like this...Well, it would be really bad. People would think she had been mugged or something.

She sure seems small for someone in high school. I wonder if she was moved up or something. In any case, she's under my protection now until she either abandons me or I die. I hope she's not one of those people that just leave behind their muse when they tire of them.

I silently noted where her backpack had fallen and rose to retrieve it for her. Her trust needed to be gained, but I wasn't exactly sure how to go about gaining it. I had been expecting to find myself playing muse to a young male not this little female.

I was shaken from my thoughts when her soft voice drifted over to me.

"So...You're not just an illusion then?"

I took a deep breath then said, "No, I'm not an illusion. I'm as real as you are; I just exist on a different plane of existence than you do."

She slowly uncurled her body as she spoke. "Can everyone see you?"

This was going to take awhile, I just knew it would. "Nope, only you and those that you choose to allow to see me."

Now she was just sitting in the dirt. "Why did you appear to me? Of all the people in the world, why me?"

I sat down next to her before I continued. "Well...We can't actually choose who sees us the first time. It just happens when we find the person who we're supposed to inspire."

"Inspire?"

I nodded. "Do you know what a muse is?"

"Yeah. My friend Margie told me about her muse once."

Okay, now we're getting somewhere. At least she had some clue as to what exactly I was. I wonder what sort of muse her friend has. Well, I'll find out sooner or later. For now I need to find out what I'm supposed to inspire in her.

"Are you an artist?"

"Sorta, I'm not very good. I only draw when the mood strikes me."

One down. "Are you a singer?"

"I'm in the chorus if that's what you mean."

"Well, then, that's not what I'm here for..." I murmured as I tried to remember what I had been told about why a muse was sent to a specific person.

Then it hit me. If she wasn't an artist or a singer then she had to be... "Do you write?"

Her eyes lit up at my words. Hit the nail on the head that time. Now I could work from there.

"What sort of things do you write about?"

She fidgeted with the ends of her long brown hair as she spoke to me. "I'm a fan fiction writer mostly. I just started thinking about writing a DBZ fan fiction today."

"Bingo. That's why I was sent to you today. I've been watching you for awhile with no clue as to the why of it. I saw you today when that Chevy almost hit you."

Immediately she stood up and glared down at me. Fury emanated from everywhere around her. Even her aura showed how angry she was.

"Now I remember! You were laughing at me! You...You...You...JERK! I could have really been hurt today! I can't believe you! You're no better than the people at school! Ah, oops!" She covered her mouth at the end of her rant.

"You know, I deserved that. It was funny though. You jumping over the front of the car, not you almost getting squished."

She was still standing next to my sitting form, but her head was bowed in embarrassment. I guess she doesn't let loose like that often. Women change moods so quickly. It's actually kinda scary.

I finally stood to be more of an eye level with her, but I realized quickly that she was much shorter than I was. Talk about looking down on someone. Not much to be done for that.

"Look, kid, I think you need to just get over it. Getting upset or angry about something bad that happens to you doesn't stop it from happening again. Only action will get the person that tried to run you down today brought to justice."

Good lord, I sound like Goku! I guess that means I'm already taking on some of her hidden attributes. She must have a very strong sense of right and wrong buried somewhere in that little body of hers. It seems like something has just about beaten out every little ounce of confidence and courage this kid has. It makes me wonder why she hasn't been gifted with one of us sooner.

Again her soft voice brought my attention back to her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Piccolo. I don't normally loose my temper like that. And, you're right about what happened today. I'm just not strong like you are. I used to be, but not any more."

I felt my temper flare at her words. Somebody had hurt her before I was around to prevent it. Unacceptable! I would have to find out exactly what happened and try to correct the problem. Later though. Now I just wanted to see where I was to be living from now on.

"Are we going to stand out here all day, or are you going to show me the way home?"

She looked so confused at that moment that I almost laughed. Instead I sighed and said, "I'm your muse now, kid. I go where you go."

Understanding dawned on her then. A minute later a smile spread across her face. She seemed like there was this burden lifted from her shoulders. I guess she's needed a muse for quite awhile.

"Hey, kid?"

She looked up at me then said, "Kaetlynn."

"Huh?"

"My name is Kaetlynn. Use it."

"Oh." I was quiet for a minute. "You know you don't have to be scared of being hurt again. I'm here to protect you as well as be your muse. My purpose is to inspire you in whatever you choose to do."

That smile grew larger as she said, "I'm glad I found you...Or, you found me... I need all the friends I can get. Maybe, someday, you'll call yourself my friend. I'd like that."

I found myself unable to speak at this. Here was this kind, compassionate individual with next to nothing good in her life and all she wanted was for me to be her friend. I have much to learn about this girl. There is definitely more to her than what she lets me see. It seems that I'm not the only one who will learn from our association. I hope I can help this kid. I don't think I've ever met someone so deserving of one of my kind.

This must be what it truly means to be someone's muse. This unexplainable need to take care of her. Wanting to see that shy smile of hers. Feeling angry for things people had done to her both physically and emotionally in the past. I have to earn her trust. I get the feeling that won't be too hard.

At the time I had no idea this meeting would prove to be the makings of a friendship that would span all distances and problems of the next few years. It had begun.

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	2. A normal day together

Musing Days

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the animes mentioned in this story.

AN: This story is based on how I met my muses. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Chapter Two: A normal day together

Two months later...

'Ha ha! Finnally, its Christamas break! No more school! No homework for two and a half weeks! I'm free! I'm free!' I thought as I made my way from the school building.

Midterms had been hell, but at least I'm done testing for the year. I don't even have to step foot in that Kami forsaken building until the second week of January. Taking all those tests over the past three days has been worth it for this. Of course, I did get out of two of them since I had the grade and the days for an exemption. Wait until my mom hears about this. I know I passed most of my tests. Not so sure on my math score,though I'm sure its bad.

I came out of my musings when I noticed Piccolo waiting for me at the bottom of the hill. He was almost always there when I got out of school. We had made it sort of a ritual for us to walk home together. I don't know what he does until I get out at 2:40, but I'm sure it's something boring. Knowing Piccolo-chan, and I do, he was probably meditating on the roof all day.

Waving at him as I reached him I said, "Walk with me. I can't stop or everyone will think I waved at thin air."

He never said a word, just fell into step next to me. I walked over to my friend Margie to tell her Merry Christmas then started for home. Margie has a muse all her own according to Piccolo. I can't see her, but she's there. Her muse is a Sailor Pluto, and she scares Piccolo. Something about egnamic muses and being able to read minds. Not that much of a big deal since he can read minds too.

"So..How did the testing go?"

I jerked, but kept walking while we spoke.

"Pretty well, I guess. I'll have to work my hide off second term though. I'm pretty sure I bombed my math test."

"I told you that you needed to spend more time studying and less time writing your silly stories."

"Yeah, well, my silly stories are what got me you remember?"

"I remember, Kae."

I flinched slightly at the nick name. It was what he had started calling me after he heard one of my school friends say it. I'm still not used to it.

"What did you do all day, P-chan?"

"Don't call me P-chan. And I was watching you through the windows all day."

I grinned at him. "Weren't you freezing out there?"

The way he rubbed at his arms gave me all the answer I needed. I rolled my eyes at him and kept on going. The sooner we got to the house, the sooner I could wrap him in a blanket and warm him up. I swear he can't take care of himself.

"Hey, I heard that! I'll have you know I've been taking care of myself since before I met you."

"You sure have a strange way of showing it. Don't you even know to take a coat when you go outside in forty something degree weather?"

"I would have, but I don't have a coat to put on. You haven't sent me shopping yet."

"Umm...Oro?" I said as I tried to cover up my embarassment.

P-chan has been with me for about two months now, but I'm still learning about the places muses go to get the things they need. He can't get clothes from a regular store cause he can't touch regular clothes that aren't mine. He can't touch anything unless its mine or unless I've touched it first.

Muses have their own little places to get what they need. There's a muse store, a muse hospital, and even a muse adoption center. I can't actually go to these places, but I can call via this little headset P-chan got me for just that purpose. Then someone comes and picks him up and takes him there, or a portal to the store appears in my bedroom.

I felt a nudge at my shoulder and turned to see what my muse wanted. Apparantly, we'd arrived at home and I hadn't noticed.

"Um...Oops." I said while I unlocked the door and opened it.

"Little baka." He said as he pushed past me and went inside.

"Hey, I heard that!"

"You were meant to."

"You're so mean to me!"

"No I'm not, I just have the right to tease you. I'm your muse, that's one of my perks."

"Arg! You make me so mad!"

"Better angry than emotionally constipated, Kae-chan."

I rolled my eyes at his comment and calmly entered my house. It isn't always easy having him around, especially when my mom wanted to know who I was talking to at odd hours of the night. Sometimes I have to lie to her and tell her I was just talking in my sleep or something to the sort. Well…nothing to do for that now.


	3. A Christams meeting

Musing Days

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the animes mentioned in this story.

AN: This story is based on how I met my muses. All names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Chapter Three: A Christmas Meeting

(December 24th)

"P-chan, wake up! It's Christmas! Wake up! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

I could hear Kae calling me from the end of the hall. For some reason she'd been up since six this morning and hadn't stopped trying to get me up. Normally, when she doesn't have school, Kae-chan sleeps in until noon.

I had finnally had enough of her yelling so I decided to go ahead and get up. It was well past my normal waking time anyway. Slowly, so that I wouldn't fall on my ass, I rolled out of the hamock that I sleep in and started wandering towards where Kae was.

I streached and yawned as I followed the feeling of Kae's aura straight to her living room. I stopped mid streach at the site that met my eyes. Kae's living room was decorated in a flurry of Christmas time ornaments. Lights that should have been on the house were hanging neatly all through the living room and into the connected kitchen. The tree that, only the night before, had been little more than a plastic shrub was now a ceiling to floor plush tree. All the decorations that had been on the little tree were now on the big one and the broken lights were repaired and on the larger tree as well.

My mouth fell open. "Kae, what in the world...?"

She jumped up and hugged me with all the streangth her little body possesed before she said, "It's a miracle, Piccolo! A Christmas miracle! Santa brought us a tree!"

I watched in confusion as she danced around the room in her youthful joy of what had happened. I've never seen her so happy, not even when I told her that I considered her to be my friend.

Her mother, Tanya, looked more reserved about the whole thing. Sometimes, I wonder if Tanya-san can see me too. She acts like she can't, but Kae is always hugging me and talking to me with her mother standing right there near us. Tanya-san also says things randomly sometimes that sound like she may be talking to me, but any time I look over at her she's looking in another direction.

I brought myself from my thoughts when Kae let out this weird gasping sound from near the back door. I came to stand next to her and looked to see what had set her off. It was snowing.

"Momma, look, it's snowing. Isn't it pretty?"

Her mother stood up in a single graceful motion and came to stand on the other side of her daughter. For the first time since I'd first come to stay here I got to see the expression of wonder that both mother and daughter had on their faces. Kae's mom doesn't have much time to herself since she's always working to support Kae and herself. This is probably the first time that I've seen her with a look on her face other than sadness or fatigue.

I sighed as I turned back to the tree and the larger-than-before pile of presents that were stacked up under it. This would take awhile. Might as well make myself comfortable.

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(Kae)

Later that day...

Today has been one surprise or miracle after another. First, Santa brought us a real tree and gave us presents. Second, it had started snowing. Then momma found a turkey in the oven for Christmas dinner. I still wonder how Santa knew we needed this moral pick me up this year.

I drew my thoughts to a close as I finished getting ready to go play in the snow. This will be P-chan's first Christmas with me so I hope it is memorable. This is the first time in a long time that there's been snow on the ground. I'm so happy!

I felt myself come to a complete stop as my toe nudged something in the snow. I looked down to see what it was, then immediatly wished I hadn't. It was a frozen body.

I screamed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I didn't stop until I felt myself pulled backwards into Piccolo's arms. He made me hide my face against his shoulder while he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Kae, stop that infernal racket and talk to me!"

I immedatly stopped.

"There's a...a..."

"There's a what?"

I took a deep, calming breath then said, "There's a dead body buried in the snow!"

Piccolo let go of me then and turned to look more closely at what had set off my screaming fit.

"Kae...He's more than just a normal person...He's a muse. He's from my world."

I blinked at him. "A muse? Here? Why?"

He didn't look at me as he drew off his coat and started clearing the snow from the wild muse at my feet.

"He's a wild one. There's no telling why he chose this house of all the places to collapse."

I nodded my understanding to my muse then knelt down to help him dig the poor lost muse from the snow. After what seemed to me like an eternity we finnaly uncovered him enough to pull him out of the snow. I gave the wild muse a once over then had to hold back a fit of screaming again. He had a child clutched in his arms.

"Oh my god...Piccolo, tell me that isn't what I think it is."

Piccolo answered me by bundling up the obviously frozen child and handing it to me.

"Hold him."

"Piccolo, he's dead."

"I know, Kae, I know. Just...hold him for a minute."

Piccolo's voice sounded very sad. It was as if some great weight had been dropped onto his shoulders. He seemed to become older before my eyes as he carefully removed the larger of the two frozen muses from the snow and carried him to the house. I followed behind him silently.

As soon as we were in the house Piccolo turned to me and said, "Kae, put the little one down somewhere then run some warm water in the tub." He gestured to the other muse he had carried in. "This one is still alive. We have to get him warm before we loose him too."

I nodded my understanding then went to do as he had asked. I carefully set down the small bundle I'd been carrying on my bed then headed to my bathroom and ran some water in the bath. I was careful not to make it too hot. I know from watching shows about hypothermia victems that you have to raise their temperatures gradually or you could send them into hypothermic shock.

A minute later I had to avert my gaze as Piccolo brought the unconsious muse into the bathroom. The other muse had been stripped down to nothing so that his frozen clothing wouldn't make things worse. I kept my eyes pointed at the floor as Piccolo and I eased the frozen muse into the tub and began trying to get his temperature back up.

I was so engrossed on keeping this unknown muse alive that I didn't notice until he walked back in the bathroom that Piccolo had gone to do something else. I noticed the object he had in his hand and looked up at him curiously as he came to stand next to my knelt form.

"I really wish this wasn't what I thought it was. You'll probably want to see this. It was on the kid."

He handed me a rectangular shaped object on a black tie. I looked closer at it and realized it was actually designed to look like a duel monsters card. I opened it and saw a picture of a young boy with brown hair sitting in front of a chess board.

I started to cry. I knew who this was.

"Mokuba and Seto Kaiba. The Kaiba brothers. Oh my god... P-chan, what are we going to tell him?"

"I don't know, Kae. We'll figure it out once we're sure he's going to live."

"Okay." I hung my head. "But why them? These two...they only ever had each other really. Now who's going to keep him going?"

"Obviously you are, Kaetlynn. He came to you for a reason. You could see him, you could touch him. That means he's supposed to stay with you."

I blinked at him. "Are you trying to tell me that Seto Kaiba is supposed to be my muse?"

He nodded then removed the necklace from my hand and put it around my neck so that it wouldn't get lost.

"I thought only one of your kind ever came to inspire."

He shrugged then said, "That's not true all the time, Kae. Some people get a new muse whenever they start a new story or when they have a jump in the way things inspire them. Different muse for a different style. It means you're getting better."

I was about to say something else to him when Seto began to stir in the tub. I noticed something glow from the pile of clothes sitting in the sink and went to investigate. There, buried amongst his frozen and dirty clothing, was the Millenium Rod. He was packing some serious power with him.

I removed the rod from his clothes and tucked it into my belt under my sweat shirt so that he wouldn't unleash Set on us before we could make him understand what had happened to Mokuba.

I made sure my back was turned to him before I said, "Hey, you okay in there?"

I heard him moving around behind me and knew he'd gotten out of the tub. That was a good sign at least. P-chan would let him borrow some of his clothes until he was well enough to go the mall by himself. There was a long silence before I heard the sound of Seto settling himself on the toilet. I guess Piccolo brought him some clothes to change into for when he woke up.

A moment later Seto's shaky voice drifted over to me. "Where am I? I remember falling in the snow...Oh my dear Kami...Mokuba! Where is Mokuba!"

I didn't realize he'd gotten up until he plowed right into my back.

"Eeep!" I yelled as the two of us fell in heap onto the carpeted bathroom floor.

Piccolo immediatly hauled the older Kaiba brother off of me and offered me his hand. "Are you okay, Kae?"

"I'm fine, just a little winded is all." I said as I was pulled to my feet.

Seto had gained his feet as well and was glaring at Piccolo as if the other muse had done something terrible to him. I reached under my shirt to make sure I still had the rod. Seto couldn't hope to hurt Piccolo, but Set could and would.

I made sure I was looking dead at Seto before I said, "Stop harrassing Piccolo!"

Seto rocked back on his heals and snapped his head around to look at me. Piccolo had the same reaction the day I met him. It was actually pretty funny.

"Are you...Are you talking to me? Can you see me?"

"Well duh, Kaiba."

He seemed to consider me for a moment then he bowed his head in my direction and said, "Then you have taken in my brother and I. We are your muses now."

I shook my head sadly at the look Seto was giving me. He looked so relieved that they had a home. How was I to tell him his brother was gone.

"Seto, listen to me. I'm not going to lie to you. I did find both of you out there today, but..."

I was stopped when Seto leaned forward and lightly grabbed hold of the necklace Piccolo had placed on me earlier.

"This is Mokuba's. What are you doing with it?"

I could feel the heat from the rod as it responded to the nearness of it's master. His eyes were boring into mine. He's so serious looking right now. I don't think I can face him.

"Miss?"

I shook my head again then pulled on the streangth I could feel being offered to me by my silent muse.

"Seto, I'm sorry to have to tell you this...Mokuba...He didn't make it."

Blue eyes widened in a violent show of refusal. He took a single step away from me then turned and bolted out of the room.

"Seto!"

I ran after him. I knew Piccolo would be behind me. I had to stop him. In his current state he could hurt himself. The rod glowed against my stomach again. It could feel the agitation and confusion in its master.

An idea struck me. I pulled the rod from out under my shirt, held it straight out towards Seto's retreating figure, and yelled, "STOP!"

Immediatly, Seto's tall frame jerked to a stop. When he turned to look at me again, his eyes were the bright gold of Set's. I held my breath while I waited to see what the Egyptian priest would do.

"You are to be the one then? The one we inspire?"

I let out my breath. "Yes. My name is Kaetlynn."

He nodded. "Very well then, Mistress Kaetlynn." He looked around. "The boy?"

"Dead."

He nodded, though a slight tremor shook his strong form. "My other doesn't understand. Where is the body?"

I squared my shoulders then held my hand out to the High Preist. "Come with me."

He quietly took my hand and followed me back through the house. Piccolo remained safely out of the way. I led him back to my room and gestured to the bundle lying prone on my bed. Set let go of my hand and went to examine the remains. I saw him shudder again and found myself unable to help going over to comfort him.

"High Priest Set...I don't know how much you knew of Mokuba, but Seto's brother was his life. Everything he did, he did for Mokuba. The loss is going to hurt him for a while, but I'll be here to help the both of you through it."

"I know. Seto Kaiba is my other, the one whose body I reincarnated into. I cannot fully understand what he's going through, but I can get the general idea of it. It hurts both of us. He does not want to accept this."

He looked at the rod that I still held in my free hand. "Until I can be certain that he will not do anything stupid, you should keep the Millenium Rod with you. If you have need of me then you can summon me the same way you did today."

I nodded again then said, "I understand. Will you put Seto back in control then?"

"Yes, but first..."

Set straightened himself from his posistion on the bed and came to stand right in front of me.

"As my other will not allow you to touch him after this..."

He leaned his entire body over and wrapped his arms around my waist. His head found the crook of my neck and stayed there. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. I could hear P-chan growling at the Egyptian preist from wherever he was right now.

"Set?"

His body crowded closer to mine before he spoke. "Seto needs this, not I. He has to have something to support himself through this. So stubborn, that one. He would never allow himself to draw streangth from you. It is against his nature, and mine. I, however, understand that sometimes one must do what one does not like in order to prosper. Please, don't be offended by me. I'm not going to do anything to you. Your presence is simply a necessity to my other."

I couldn't help but blush harder at Set's description of why he was doing this. I've never been told that I was necessary for anything. It felt strange to be told that I was needed by someone like Seto Kaiba. I slipped the rod back under my belt then brought my arms around Set's neck and held him. I felt him stiffen against me then relax as he shifted to allow me to comfort him. I realized that both versions of the High Priest probably needed to be healed in this way, though Set would never admit to it.

All of a sudden Set's entire body went rigid and he tried to draw away from me. Seto must be back in control. I shifted my arms and pulled the young duelist down far enough to give him a real hug. Then I moved back and let him go.

His blue eyes looked so haunted that I could barely stand to look at him. For a moment I had no clue as to what I was going to do. Seto looked like he was ready to bolt again. I reached out in an attempt to offer what comfort I could, but he drew away sharply and glared at me.

"Don't you touch me!"

"Seto..."

"Don't call me that! You don't have the right to call me by name! You let my brother die! It's your fault! It's all your fault! I hate you! Stay the hell away from me!"

I flinched and scooted backward onto my bed and drew my knees up next to me. Something tells me that gaining his trust is going to be hard, especially since he's lost the only person that ever meant anything to him. Kami-sama help me, I hope I have the streangth to do this.

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Thats it for this chapter.

This is the last one until after Christmas everyone.

Oh, and just to let everyone know...Sometime during this Piccolo took Mokuba's body out of Kae's room so its not in there anymore.

Seeya next chapter.

Author's Corner:

I've gotten a few good questions from my reviewers so from now on I'll answer them at the end of the chapter. To the one(s) who asked these, you know who you are.

1.) Why can't a muse touch anything except what Kae has already touched?

A) They can't touch things from our world because they don't technically exist on this plane of reality so it only makes sense that they can't touch our stuff. The reason they can touch stuff that Kae has already touched is because the muses are tied to the one they are to inspire thus anything with that aura on them becomes partly in their reality.

2) It appears recipients and muses are not aware ahead of time as to who they will be connected with. So how do the muses know when to cross over?

A) Technically, they don't cross over. Their world exists right next to ours. To put it in a way that makes more sense, the muse world is on a different vibration than our world thus making it invisible to most people. The only way for a muse to tell when they're about to find someone that they are to inspire is the feeling of needing to be somewhere and knowing that they're watching for someone even if they don't know who. Piccolo touches on this in the first chapter.

3)Why would they send muses over so carelessly if there's a risk of death?

A) There usually isn't any danger in them becoming in tuned with our world. Their world is just always in a perpetual state of mid spring so they aren't used to the winter cold. It just happened that Seto and Mokuba were going to where they were supposed to go and the cold of our world dropped them. It just happens that way sometimes. Its rare to have a muse die, but it can happen.

4)If they both were needed, what is going to happen now that one of the muses has failed to find the person he needs to inspire?

A) In this case you'll just have to wait and see.


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